Hatch covers

ABSTRACT

A hatch cover including a multiplicity of relatively narrow cover panels of L-shaped cross-section which are laid over a hatch coaming having a panel storing station at one end thereof, with their longer legs placed side by side horizontally thereon and with their shorter legs depending as skirt portions in hatch closing position. A scooping support carriage is provided for supporting the weight of all cover panels loaded thereon in superposed manner while scooping up one panel after the other progressively during a movement of the carriage so as to bring them from a hatch closing position to a panel storing position during hatch opening operation, and vice versa. The carriage is provided with cam means for actuating push rod members slidably mounted on each cover panel upwardly so as to elevate an adjoining cover panel at a level higher than that of the former panel as a first move for bringing the latter panel into superposed condition over the former panel, in addition to another cam means for holding all of the cover panels loaded thereon in superposed condition one above the other.

United States Patent 91 Ito [111 3,811,223 [451 May2l, 1974 HATCH COVERS[75] Inventor: Yuko Ito, Tokyo, Japan [73] Assignee: Kabushiki KaishaNihon Hatch Cover Kenkyusho, Tokyo, Japan 22 Filed: Feb. 28, 1972 [21]Appl, No.: 229,684

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Mar 12, [972 Japan 47-13076 [52]US. Cl 49/127, 114/202, 160/193 [51] int. Cl. E05d 15/26 [58] Field ofSearch 49/127; 160/188, 193; 114/201, 202

[56] References Cited FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,026,417 4/1966Great Britain 160/193 Primary ExaminerKenneth Downey Attorney, Agent, orFirm-Anthony A. O'Brien [57] ABSTRACT A hatch cover including amultiplicity of relatively narrow cover panels of L-shaped cross-sectionwhich are laid over a hatch coaming having a panel storing station atone end thereof, with their longer legs placed side by side horizontallythereon and with their shorter legs depending as skirt portions in batchclosing position. A scooping support carriage is provided for supportingthe weight of all cover panels loaded thereon in superposed manner whilescooping up one panel after the other progressively during a movement ofthe carriage so as to bring them from a hatch clos ing position to apanel storing position during hatch opening operation, and vice versa.The carriage is provided with cam means for actuating push rod membersslidably mounted on each cover panel upwardly so as to elevate anadjoining cover panel at a level higher than that of the former panel asa first move for bringing the latter panel into superposed conditionover the former panel, in addition to another cam means for holding allof the cover panels loaded thereon in superposed condition one above theother.

2 Claims, 19 Drawing Figures PATENTED W21 m4 SHEET 2 [IF 7 E5110 Fig-1D-PATENTEUIAYZI mm 3.8 1 1.' 223 sum 3 or 7 1 HATCH COVERS The presentinvention relates to a hatch cover, and more particularly to a hatchcover including a plurality of cover panels of substantially L-shapedcross-section movable between hatch closing and opening positions bymeans of a support carriage with each panel being loaded on or unloadedfrom the carriage one after the other during a movement of the carriage.

A hatch cover using such a scooping support carriage is known in theprior art. However, the carriage means for carrying a multiplicity ofcover panels of L-shaped cross-section loaded thereon is complicated inits construction and not easily operated. The present inventioncontemplates to improve the structure and operation of the prior arthatch cover of this kind.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a hatch coverincluding plurality of cover panels of substantially L-shapedcross-section moved smoothly between hatch closing and opening positionsby means of a support carriage which is simple to construct and easy tooperate.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a hatch coverhaving a plurality of coverpanels of substantially L-shapedcross-section which are positively interconnected one with the other soas to be held together in one block during closed condition.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a hatchcover including a plurality of cover panels of substantially L-shapedcross-section which are constructed so as to be smoothly separated fromeach other during hatch opening operation by means of push rod membersslidably mounted on each panel and actuated by cam means provided on thecarriage for positively disengaging adjoining panels from each other.

According to the present invention, there is provided a hatch coverhaving a plurality of narrow cover panels of substantially L-shapedcross-section connected together on horizontal support members on ahatch coaming and each extending laterally with respectto a direction ofhatch opening operation, including push rod members slidably mounted oneach panel adjacent to a corner portion of the L-shaped cross-sectionthereof for lifting up an opposed edge of the adjoining panel, and asupport carriage located below and connected to one of said cover panelsplaced adjacent to one end of said hatch coaming in the closed conditionand having wheels rolling along rail members on the hatch coaming so asto move said carriage back and forth between said one end and theopposite end of the hatch coaming with said cover panels loaded thereonin superposed manner, said support carriage being provided with firstcam means engageable with a skirt portion of each panel and with secondcam means for actuating said push rod members on each panel upwardly.

Now, one preferable embodiment according to the present invention willbe described hereinafter in detail by way of example with reference tothe accompanying drawings, in which,

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a hatch opening provided with hatch coverpanels according to the present invention,

FIG. 1A is a section view taken along a line A-A in FIG. 1,

FIG. 1B is a section view taken along a line B-B in FIG. 1,

FIG. 1C is a section view taken along a line CC in FIG. 1,

FIG. ID is a section view taken along a ling D-D in FIG. 1,

FIG. 1B is a plan view showing the hatch coaming with cover panelsremoved,

FIG. 2A is a side elevation view showing the a support carriage,

FIG. 2B is a plan view showing the support carriage in FIG. 2A,

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view showing the cover panels and the supportcarriage in hatch closing position,

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view showing the cover panels and the supportcarriage during hatch opening operation,

FIG. 5 is a side elevation view showing the cover panels and the supportcarriage in stored position after hatch opening operation,

FIG. 6A and 6B are detailed section views in enlarged scale showing aninterconnecting means between a pair of adjoining cover panels, FIG. 6Ashowing the position of an interconnecting pawl member when a hatchopening operation is commenced, and FIG. 6B showingthe position of thesame during hatch closing operation,

FIG. 7 is a side elevation view showing the position of a plurality ofthe pawl members duringhatch opening operation,

FIG. 8 is an end view in enlarged scale showing the relative position ofa wing end portion of each panel, a push rod member, and the supportcarriage,

FIG. 9A is a plan view showing another embodiment of interconnectingmeans between two adjoining panels,

FIG. 9B is a plan view in enlarged scale showing the interconnectingmeans in FIG. 9A.

FIG. 9C is a side elevation view in enlarged scale showing the same, and

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 8, showing a link memberinterconnecting two adjacent panels in FIG. 9a,-9b, 9c.

Referring to FIG. 1, 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D and 1E, there are shown a number ofelongated cover panels 2A, 2B, 2C...2M of substantially L-shapedcross-section sup ported flatly on a horizontal top surface of sidecoamings at both ends thereof so as to cover an opening of hatchcoaming 1. As shown in FIG. 18, each L-shaped cover panel includes alonger leg which constitutes a covering surface for the hatch openingand a shorter leg depending therefrom to form a skirt portion. Eachpanel is provided adjacent to a corner portion of the L- shapedcross-section with a flat bar 4 so as to support the free edge of theadjoining panel. Movable support carriage or cradle means 5 are placedon horizontal support members 3 on both sides of the hatch coaming 1, asshown in FIG. 1E from which all the cover panels 2A, 2B, 2C,.....2M areremoved. The movable support carriage 5 is placed oppositely to the endcoaming with its substantial portion located below the extreme left endpanel 2A when all the panels are in hatch closing position (SEE FIG. 3).As will be described in detail hereinafter, the movable carriage 5 willsupport all the panels 2A, 2B, 2C..... which are loaded thereon insuperposed manner after scooping up one panel after the other while itmakes a transit and bring them to the storing position as shown in FIG.5 wherein all the panels are removed from the hatch opening.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the support carriage 5 is tapered to facilitate ascooping operation and provided with a suitable number of wheels 8, 8rolling on the hatch coaming 1 and also with first and second camsurface 6 and 7 which will be described in detail hereinafter. Thesupport carriage 5 is connected to the extreme left end cover panel 2Aby means of a link member 9 having one end pivotally mounted on thecarriage 5 by a pin 10 and the other end pivoted to a lug piece 12 onthe cover panel 2A by another pin 1 1. Hence, the carriage 5 will movetogether with the extreme left end cover panel 2A although the formermay be moved slightly with reference to the latter.

The link member 9 will raise the panel 2A on the left side and bring itinto tilted position as shown in FIG. 5 when the support carriage 5 ismoved to the right relative to the panel 2A. Support carriages 5, 5 onboth sides are connected together by suitable connecting means, althoughthis means is not shown in the drawmg.

As shown in FIG. 3, 4, 5 and 8, push rod members 13A, 13B, 13C areslidably mounted respectively on each cover panels 2A, 2B, 2C,..... atboth ends thereof adjacent to the corner portions of L-shapedcrosssection. The push rod 13A loosely passing through a guide member14A secured to thecover panel 2A has its upper end in-contact with thelower surface of the left end of the adjoining panel 28 which is placedoppositely to the panel 2A (see FIG. 3). When the support carriage 5 ismoved to the right from the extreme left end position, that is, theclosed position of cover panels in FIG. 3, the push rod 13A will comeinto contact with the second cam surface 7 of the support carriage Satpanel 2A. FIG. 4 shows the support carriage 5 making a transit and thepush rod 138 on the cover panel2B which is pushing up the left endportion of the following panel 2C.

On the other hand, a shorter leg or vertical flange of L-shapedcross-section of each panel is provided at both wing ends with notchedwing portions 16A, 16B, 16C, I6D..... as shown in FIG. 8. Those notchedwing portions 16A, 16B, 16C..... will come successively into contactwith the first cam. surface 6 of the support carriage 5 at their loweredges when the support carriage 5 moves to the right and then becomeengaged with stepped edges of the first cam surface 6. Each of thesestepped edges of the first cam surface 6 will act as stopper means forpreventing. each panel from being pressed unduly to the left by actionof the following panels which are superposed thereon. Operative positionof the panel 28 with respect to the panel 2A has I been describedhereinabove. However, the mutual position during operation is similarbetween any other pair of adjoining panels, such as panels 2C and 2D.

FIG. 5 shows the support carriage 5 carrying all of the cover panelsloaded thereon in' the extreme right end position, that is, the panelstoring position. In this position, both side notched wing portions 16A,16B,

16C..... of each panel become engaged with stepped portions of the firstcam surface 6 of the support carriage 5 at lower edges edges of theskirt portion and lower ends of the push rod members 13A, 13B, 13C,.....

- the lower end thereof and hence is pushed upwardly by are engaged withstepped portions of the second cam surface 7. The extreme right endpanel 2M is pivoted about a pin 15, which pivotally mounts the panel 2Mon the hatch coaming 1 through intervention of a suitable lug piece 25.

As shown in FIGS. 6A and 68, a pawl member 17 is provided on each panel2A, 2B, 2C..... for interconnecting each of them to the adjoining panel.The pawl member 17, which has a pointed hook end l7N, is slidablyinserted into socket means 21 mounted on each panel 2A, 2B, 2C,......The pawl member 17 is provided adjacent to an upper end thereof with aslot 19, which has a pin member 20 passsed there through. The pin member20 is secured on a skirt portion 28 of the panel 2A. A coil spring 23 isinserted between a flange portion 22 provide on the pawl member 17adjacent to a lower end thereof and a lug piece 24 mounted on the skirtportion 28 of the panel 2A, so as to normally urge the pawl member 17into raised position. The pointed hook end l7N of the pawl member 17 isinserted into an opening 18 on the adjoining-panel 28 provided adjacenttoa left edge thereof so as to interconnect the panel, 2A to the panel2B(FIG. 6A). Since the panel 2A is moved to the right, that is, towardthe panel 2B during hatch opening operatiomthe pointed hook end l7N willcome into contact with righthand wall surface of the opening 18 as shownin FIG. 6A. Since the panel 2A is moved to the left, that is, away fromthe panel 28 during hatchclosing operation, the pointed hook end l7Nwill come into contact with lefthand wall surface of the opening 18 (seeFIG. 68). Since the panel 28 is disengaged out of the pointed hook endl7N and superposed over the panel 2A, righthand surface of the pointedhook end l7N is rounded off and the wall surprovided with acomplementary slanted wall surface.

FIG. 7 shows several cover panels in transit having pawl members 17 asillustrated in FIGS. 6A-and 68. Both panels 2B, 2C are separated awayfrom the pawl members 17 and overlapped on the adjoining lefthandpanels.

FIG. 8 shows the relative position between the side coaming 1 and thenotched wing portions 16A, 16B, 16C,..... of each panel. The first camsurface 6 of the support carriage 5 is engaged with. the lower edge ofeach of notched wing portions 16A, 16B, 16C, The second cam surface 7 isin contact with lower end of each of push rod members 13A, 13B,13C,....., as described hereinabove. And, the pointed hook end l7N ofthe pawl member 17 is engaged with the opening 18 of the adjoiningpanel.

FIGS. 9A, 9B and 9C show a modified form of the interconnecting meansbetween a pair of adjoining panels.-Each one of cover panels 2A, 2B, 2C,2D,..... is

connected to the adjoining panel respectively by means of link bars 26B,26C, 26D, Both ends of each link bar are secured to the skirt portionsof two adjoing panels. The link bar 26A is connected at one end to thepanel 2A by means of a ring fitting 278 secured to the skirt portion ofthat panel and at the other end to the adjoining panel 2B by means of aring fitting 28B secured to the skirt portion of the same panel. Sincethe link bar 26A is held between skirt portions of two adjoining panels2A, 2B, which are superposed one above the other, during hatch openingoperation, it is provided with an articulated joint 30 so as toaccommodate a change of spacing between two skirt portions of adjoiningpanels. A turnbuckle means 29 is inserted into the link bar 26A so as toadjust the total length of the latter.

In describing the operation of the hatch cover, it is assumed that allpanels are initially placed in hatch closing position with the extremeleft end panel 2A having its left side edge laid over the end coamingand with the support carriage 5 located underneath the panel 2A (seeFIG. 3). When the carriage 5 is moved to the right for opening the coverpanels by pulling a wire 31, the link 9 will be pivoted counterclockwiseabout the pin 10 until it is erected substantially upright as shown inFIG. 5. Hence, the panel 2A will be tilted with its lefthand edgeelevated at a level higher than that of the opposite edge. When thecarriage 5 is moved further to the right, the first cam surface 6 of thecarriage 5 will come into contact with notched wing portions 16A of thepanel 2A at both ends and will have stepped portions 32A (FIG. 3)engaged with those notched wing portions 16A. Simultaneously, the secondcam surface 7 of the carriage 5 will actuate the push rod member 13Awhich is slidably mounted on the panel 2A adjacent to the corner portionof L- shaped cross-section,'in an upward direction. Consequently, theleft hand edge of the panel 28 which is in contact with the upper end ofthe push rod member 13A will be raised upwardly. Since the panel 2A ismoved to the right together with the carriage 5 at this time, the panel28 will be superposed on the panel 2A. Similar operation will occur withrespect to to each of other panels (FIG. 4). Then, the carriage 5 willcarry all of the panels 2A, 2B, 2C..... loaded thereon in superposedmanner and will finally bring them to the storing position (FIG. 5).

In the closing operation, the carriage 5 located at the storingpositions as shown in FIG. 5 is moved to the left by pulling a wire 33.Then, each panelis placed on the horizontal top surface of the hatchcoaming one after the other commencing from the right end panel. At thistime, the openings 18 provided on the lefthand edge of each panel willbecome engaged with pawl members 17 on the adjoining panel so as tointerconnect each panel positively to the adjoining panel in the case ofthe interconnecting means as shown in FIGS. 6A and 68 being used. Whenthe interconnecting means as shown in FIG. 9A, 9B and 9C is incorporatedinstead, each of the link bars 26B, 26C, 26D,..... held between twoadjoining panels will be extended so as to hold each panel at apredetermined spacing from the adjoining one. In this manner, all of thepanels will be placed in batch closing position when the carriage 5 isbrought back to the position as shown in FIG. 3.

According to the present invention, since the support carriage 5 isprovided merely with the first and second stepped cam surface 6, 7,eliminating any kind of rotating member, such as rotatable cam means,the handling mechanism for the cover panels will become simple toconstruct and easy to operate. Therefore, the cost of construction andmaintenance can be reduced considerably.

What is claimed is:

l. A hatch cover for a hatch opening comprising:

a plurality of cover panels disposed in side by side relationship overthe hatch opening in a hatch closed position and movable in a directionalong the hatch opening into a superposed array at a hatch openposition;

each of said cover panels including a portion extending downwardlytherefrom;

a push rod member slidably mounted on each cover panel and disposedbeneath an adjoining panel for selectively lifting said adjoiningpanels;

a support carriage located below said cover panels and movable in saiddirection along the hatchopening;

said support carriage including cam means sequentially engageable witheach of the downwardly depending portions of said cover panels foradvancing same toward the hatch open position;

said support carriage further including cam means having a sequence ofstepped portions descending in the direction toward the hatch openposition and being sequentially engageable with each of said push rodmembers for actuating same into lifting contact with each of saidadjoining panels such that the cover panels may be advanced under thelifted adjoining cover panels.

2. A hatch cover for a hatch opening comprising:

a plurality of cover panels disposed in side by side relationship overthe hatch opening in a hatch closed position and movable in a directionalong the hatch opening into a superposed array at a hatch openposition;

each of said cover panels including a portion extending downwardlytherefrom;

a push rod member slidably mounted on each cover panel and disposedbeneath an adjoining panel for selectively lifting said adjoiningpanels;

a support carriage located below said cover panels and movable in saiddirection along the hatch opening;

said support carriage including cam means having a sequence of steppedportions descending in the direction toward the hatch open position andbeing sequentially engageable with each of the downwardly dependingportions of said cover panels for advancing same toward the hatch openposition; and

said support carriage further including cam means sequentiallyengageable with each of said push rod members for actuating same intolifting contact with each of said adjoining panels such that the coverpanels may be advanced under the lifted adjoining cover panels.

1. A hatch cover for a hatch opening comprising: a plurality of coverpanels disposed in side by side relationship over the hatch opening in ahatch closed position and movable in a direction along the hatch openinginto a superposed array at a hatch open position; each of said coverpanels including a portion extending downwardly therefrom; a push rodmember slidably mounted on each cover panel and disposed beneath anadjoining panel for selectively lifting said adjoining panels; a supportcarriage located below said cover panels and movable in said directionalong the hatch opening; said support carriage including cam meanssequentially engageable with each of the downwardly depending portionsof said cover panels for advancing same toward the hatch open position;said support carriage further including cam means having a sequence ofstepped portions descending in the direction toward the hatch openposition and being sequentially engageable with each of said push rodmembers for actuating same into lifting contact with each of saidadjoining panels such that the cover panels may be advanced under thelifted adjoining cover panels.
 2. A hatch cover for a hatch openingcomprising: a plurality of cover panels disposed in side by siderelationship over the hatch opening in a hatch closed position andmovable in a direction along the hatch opening into a superposed arrayat a hatch open position; each Of said cover panels including a portionextending downwardly therefrom; a push rod member slidably mounted oneach cover panel and disposed beneath an adjoining panel for selectivelylifting said adjoining panels; a support carriage located below saidcover panels and movable in said direction along the hatch opening; saidsupport carriage including cam means having a sequence of steppedportions descending in the direction toward the hatch open position andbeing sequentially engageable with each of the downwardly dependingportions of said cover panels for advancing same toward the hatch openposition; and said support carriage further including cam meanssequentially engageable with each of said push rod members for actuatingsame into lifting contact with each of said adjoining panels such thatthe cover panels may be advanced under the lifted adjoining coverpanels.